Two Hermès bags seized from Vietnamese tycoon fetch $535K at auction
Two Hermès Birkin handbags confiscated from jailed Vietnamese businesswoman Truong My Lan have sold for more than $535,000 in a government auction, Qazinform News Agency reports.
According to BFMTV, the bidding reportedly concluded in just 30 minutes.
One Birkin fetched $440,144, while the second one sold for $94,858. The coveted Birkin handbags are renowned for their exclusivity, with prices often reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Once a powerful real estate tycoon, Lan is serving a life sentence for embezzling billions from Saigon Commercial Bank.
Initially sentenced to death in April 2024 after being found guilty of secretly controlling the bank and siphoning $44 billion through shell companies, her punishment was commuted to life imprisonment after Vietnam abolished the death penalty for certain crimes.
Lan has been ordered to repay $27 billion in reparations. She reportedly attempted to keep the handbags, claiming one was purchased in Italy and the other gifted by a Malaysian businessman. She argued they should remain as keepsakes for her children and grandchildren.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that a ‘Superman’ comics found in the attic had fetched record price at auction.
